Love affiar
by dracolov
Summary: Draco an Hermione work in the same offices. Hermione engaged to Ron, but her and Draco are having problems at work and its running over into her personal life. When things get hot between the two what will happen to Hermione's engagement? d/h
1. Trouble on the way

A/N: Welcome to another story, if you must read PLEASE let me tell you this idea was inspired by a one shot

A/N: _Confrontations__ was the one shot that I got this idea from. My first chapter is a lot like the one shot because it was so well written, but I put my own spin on it and I plan to write many more chapters after this. Hope it came out alright…_

Chapter 1

(June 13)

Draco sat at his desk, looking over a list of potions he and his co-worker had to test over the next few months and decided if they were safe or not for the public. It was just one of many things he had to do with his very annoying co-worker. He heard her sigh, making him look up to see her bent over the same list. Hermione's hair spilled down her face and on to her desk.

Draco found that couldn't stand her over the passed six years since the war had ended; he and several others from his school landed jobs at the ministry of magic; his co-work Ms. Granger being one of too many. In the first week of working with each other (if you could call it that) they had to make a truce before they both got fired. After that, they did their best to stay clear of the other. When this could not be avoided they managed to be civil at best.

His eyes racked over her as he took her all in. There were so many things about her that drove him nuts. Like how she always thought she was right even when proven wrong! She would go on for weeks trying to prove her point to their boss until given her way. Then she would groan to herself about the extra work she had given herself and not to mention him. That's right, every time she had a new scheme he was saddled with extra work because they were technically partners.

Then there was how she always claimed she knew just what kind of man he was and dismissed him without so much as a second thought. That always pissed him off, how she could so simply dismiss him like he wasn't worth a second look, not that he wanted her to give him one, but still he was worth it no matter who was looking.

As Draco was seething over her annoying ways, Granger's fiancé strolled into the room and up to her desk. Ron Weasley leaned down to whisper something in her ear, making the girl turn a deep shade of pink. Draco's eyes narrowed as he watched in disgust over the scene before him.

He hated it that Weasley got to make her turn so red. That was something Draco had always taken such joy in. He hated the idea of any one else making her get all flustered. It wasn't because he had feelings for the girl. Hell, she wasn't even sexually attractive to him. It was just as long as he had known her he was the only one that could make her get that way and he loved to have that kind of power over her.

Granger got to her feet, getting her coat as she and the Weasel headed for the door. She looked over her shoulder at him. He shrugged, acting as if he hadn't been looking at her. She glared at him, making him know he had been paying way too much attention to the muggle-born.

(June 14)

Hermione got in the shower only to glare at the water springing down on her. She couldn't help it as she re-called a moment in her office that pissed her off. Malfoy was staring at her again! Not in the 'god she's a fine peace of ass' way, but the: I'm picking you apart and cataloging all your faults kind of way. It wasn't that she wanted Malfoy to think of her as a fine peace of ass. After all, she was an engaged person and had the life she always dreamed of.

It was that Malfoy only did this to her and no one else. Other women would get miner glances or approving looks, but she would be flat out stared at for hours on end. And the worst part is Malfoy made no attempt to hide the fact he was staring at her. It drove her crazy how he could be so… 'Bold'.

There were other things that bugged her about him too, but to have such a good looking man look at her for so long and only be thinking of her flaws was insulting. She was no fool; Draco Malfoy was a very sexy man. She had noticed when his robe was off and his sleeves were rolled up he was very well built. She had taken a few innocent looks at his arms and hot body when he was showing it off, but there was nothing else there to see except a 'Fine peace of ass'. She smirked a bit, shaking her head.

She wasn't interested in Malfoy outside of work or in work for that matter. She just knew he was a sexy guy and she'd be a liar if she said otherwise. The problem was every time Malfoy would piss her off like that she couldn't call him out on it at work and seeing as they didn't speak outside of work, Hermione's man, Ron, got her anger taken out on him. She knew he was getting tired of it because last night he had said 'What ever it is at work that's bugging you, dump it on Malfoy. You know he'd do the same.'

That was when she had decided from this day fourth that things were going to change between her and her co-worker. She went to work and as soon as she saw him she strolled right up to him smiling wide, "Good Morning Draco, you look rather nice today, is that a new shirt?" She watched as Malfoy looked her over to see if she was on something before looking down at his shirt and then back to her.

"Morning... No it's just one of many shirts I own that look the same as this one." She could hear the skepticism in his voice. He slightly moved away from her to the other side of his desk as if he thought the odd moment was now over.

"Ah, well whatever it is, you look nice today." She smiled brightly at him making him turn once more to look at her. She kind of liked to see how awkward he felt just then. "Don't forget, there's a big meeting in a half an hour!" She then turned on her heel, walking to her desk. She had known it would be awkward at first, but after a little while he'd get use to it.

(July 6 7:00am)

Draco looked down at his desk when he saw Granger coming in for the day. She had been acting odd for weeks now and it was making him suspicious. She would talk to him for no reason and ask him things like 'how was your date' or 'Where you having lunch'. At first Draco had been a little freaked out, thinking maybe he was under investigation or something.

He hadn't done anything illegal in years, but if they (The Ministry) thought he had, his already crappy rep would be made worse, which would have been a bitch since he had worked hard and still was working on fixing the Malfoy name. However, once deciding that that couldn't be it, his mind started to wonder and he didn't like were it was taking him.

He found that he could no longer look at Granger like he used to. Each time he did his mind would start undressing her and day dreaming what it be like to shag her brains out. It didn't end there either. He would wonder what her breath would feel like on his skin or how smooth her legs would feel under his touch. Before he knew it, he had a raging hard on, which tended to be painful when he couldn't take it out and play with it.

His solution to this new found problem was to ignore her. He wouldn't look at her at all and if she spoke to him, he used as few words as he could or a grunt of some kind. It was the only way to deal with his sudden sexual feelings for her. After all, it wasn't like he could take her into the closet and fuck her like he wanted.

(7:02am)

Hermione was pissed. After how fucking friendly she had been toward Draco, that git had changed but not for the better. He was _ignoring_ her and had been for weeks. She hated the fact that he no longer looked at her. He wouldn't even look up when she was talking to him. Then there were times he acted like he hadn't heard her and when he did respond it was either a shrug, 'ah hu', or 'Mmm'. He was so damn infuriating she could just spit!

She shut the door and shutters, silencing the room and locking the door. 'Enough is enough' she hissed in her mind before making her way to his desk. "Draco," She said calmly, trying to get him to look up at her. He just mumbled like he was too good to be bothered with her. "MALFOY, LOOK AT ME!" She snapped, fire burning in her eyes. "God, just stop ignoring me for two damn seconds. We need to discuss this matter and NOW!"

Draco stood up, leaning over his desk to look her in the eye. "I don't think that's such a good idea," He said with a hint of something she couldn't understand. "I have work to do, so if you'll just…" He tried to wave her off. 'Jack ass!'

"I am your partner. I know what work we have to do and it can wait, this can not. So you can just stop your little stupid act and talk to me person to person." She hissed, making him come around the desk and back her into a wall. "You're such a bastard!" She hissed in his face as he growled at her. He put his hands on the wall locking her in-between him and it. "What is you're problem? I have been nothing but nice to you for weeks now and you act like its poison or something!"

"You really want to talk about this?" He hissed, seething in anger as he glared at her. She lifted her chin as if demanding he talk about it. "FINE! But it's not my fault if you don't like what I have to say!"

"Gods you're such a fucking prick." She growled, crossing her arms and glaring at him. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath before he punched something.

"Why don't you explain to me how that is so?" He asked in a low voice, trying to keep himself from doing something stupid. Something that could get him in more trouble then he could ever get out of.

"You are rude, Draco. When someone is speaking to you, you should look at them, talk to them, and for gods' sake treat them as an equal no matter how much you don't believe it so." He looked into her eyes, letting his anger slip away.

"Alright, I'm doing what you asked Granger, so please do go on." His voice was strained due to his temper, but he had managed to be calm. It was easier then he thought as he took in her scent, which made his knees shack.

Hermione must have noticed because everything got very still. They just looked at each other as if waiting for something. Draco could see a hint of want in her gaze; it was all he needed to close the space between them. He let his breath run over her skin as he took in all her heavenly smells. He felt her hands run up his chest and over his arms making him let out a husky breath as he 'ah'ed' a bit.

Hermione snapped out of whatever she was feeling to whisper "No, we can't I'm a…" She didn't get to finish as Draco started to suck on her neck, making her eyes roll into the back of her head as she whimpered from his touch. He pushed her against the wall as her hands started to roam his body again.

His lips made their way up her neck to find her lips as his hands started to remove her shirt. They were acting like wild lusty animals as they pulled on each other roughly, taking each other's clothes off. Their kisses were frantic needy kisses. It was as if they had never kissed anyone before and never would again.

Once free of everything but their underwear, the two moved to his desk. He put her down on it as he moved over her body, stopping to play with her breasts. "Oh, no Malfoy we sho…uld stop…" She moaned, putting her hand in his hair and pushing him downward to remove her knickers. He never took her hand out of his hair while he pulled them down. As soon as she was free of them, she shoved his head into her.

This made Draco disregard her comments of stopping. If she really wanted to stop she wouldn't have been holding his head in place as he licked her. His hands slid up and down her legs as he licked away until he could no longer take it. Kicking his boxers off, he climbed on top of her. He stopped, looking down at her and breathing out a soft hungry 'No turning back'. Their eyes met as her hands slid down to run over his length. He let out a deep moan, loving the feel of her hand on him. She guided him into her, ending the question if they would go on like this.

Draco took his time to enjoy every second he was inside her and he made damn sure she was enjoying it just as much if not more than him. The desk moved wildly beneath them as they shagged wildly, knowing at any moment someone could break the spells hiding them and walk in on them. Maybe that was what made the shag all the more thrilling.

(8: 15am)

As the two straightened themselves up and cleaned up their mess, Draco heard Hermione saying 'Oh my god what the hell was I thinking'. He took hold of her arm, making her look at him. "Don't you dare…" He hissed at her.

"But Draco I'm eng…" He kissed her roughly, holding her to him.

"Not anymore your not," He breathed hotly on her lips as he started to day dream about another wild shag, only on her desk this time. "I won't let this go."

"You never do," She said, pulling away from him to pick up a few more things. After a long day of taking knowing glances at each other and getting almost nothing done, Hermione resealed the room. "What are you going to do?" She said with a devilish look on her face. It only got bigger when he said he'd figure it out. "That's what I thought; you know just as well as I do; no one will believe I slept with you." She raised her hand to keep him silent.

"I love Ron and I am going to marry him. Whatever this was…pent up stress or tension, it's over now." She went to leave, but Draco caught her by the arm.

"The hell it is," He snapped, pulling her to him and holding her there. "You wanted me, just as much as I wanted you. Now you can try and ignore it Hermione, but sooner or later you're going to realize this was no stress!" He leaned down, whispering dangerously in her ear. "I may not have a way to keep you now, but give me an hour tops and I'll take you down."

He felt her stiffen against him, knowing what he said was true. Letting out a breath she had been holding, Hermione came up with a temporary plan to keep them both happy. "You and I will never be anything more than a wild shag. Why throw away our lives on such a thing? Let me marry Ron in peace, him being none the wiser of our affair. While you and I take our affair behind close doors, hotels, your place or even a late night at the office. I'm happy, your happy…If you don't like that then here's what I see happening." She pulled away to look into his cold unfeeling eyes. "Both of us being in the paper, being trashed for what we did. My friends wanting to kick your ass and believing you did something to me to make me do this. I will eventually end up with Ron anyways, but you will have nothing…If I where you, I'd take the deal."

Draco growled at her, not liking what she said, but knowing every single world was true. "Fine, Granger you win…For now."


	2. hide

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(July 6th 6:30pm)

Hermione had done nothing after leaving work; she just walked around aimlessly, thinking of what to do. She thought about leaving Ron out of guilt for what she had done, but she didn't want Draco to think he had won. She had to admit that the shag in the office had been the best shag of her life. It was the type of shag she always dreamed of having with Ron, not on Draco's desk in the office. She dreamed of the feelings that filled her up with lust and need for her lover, the ache that ran through her when he didn't touch her, the dizzy delight when he did touch her, and, most of all, the satisfaction when they came together.

She had to dream of it because Ron and she had been each other's first and only until now. She had heard girls talk about it, saying it was the best thing ever. But when she and Ron made love, it was kind of dull. She sometimes found her mind wandering while being shagged. At first she thought she was doing it wrong because Ron seemed to be enjoying himself, which made no since to her because she never really got off. It took her awhile to understand that just because one gets off doesn't mean the other will too.

After awhile she stopped caring about it, deciding being in love was more important than getting off. She hated to admit it to herself, but the orgasm she had today with Draco was her very first one. She had never bothered touching herself to get one, saying it wasn't nice to dangle a bite in front of her when she couldn't have it with the one she loved. Now that she had it, she found it hard to give it up again. She hated the fact she had made such a dirty two faced deal with Malfoy. It wasn't like her to do such a rotten thing.

"Hermione!" Ron called from behind her, making her twinge. She felt the need to run away and never look back. To throw her ring in Ron's hands and say 'I'm a dirty slut; you deserve better.' It was just so damn awful, to think of how much she loved Ron and yet how bad she wanted to find Malfoy for another shag. How would she ever get out of this mess? "I've been looking all over for you sweet heart," Ron said, taking her in his arms to hug her. "Where have you been?"

"Just walking around," She said softly, smiling weakly at him. He leaned down to kiss her lips, but she pulled away from him. He raised his eye brow at her, making her uneasy. "I just had some onions."

"Oh, ok…" He said softly, scratching the back of his head a bit. "I wanted to tell you something." He said, shaking it off as if it was nothing more then what she said. "I believe it is high time we moved in together. I mean we are getting married and it seems silly for us to pay for two…" Hermione burst into tears. She couldn't do it. She didn't want to hurt Ron, but she couldn't be so two-faced. "Hermione what's wrong?"

"I can't do it…" She whispered, pulling off her ring. She didn't give Ron a chance to ask what she meant. She just shoved the ring in his hands and ran away. She could hear him calling out to her as he ran after her. She ran into a crowd of people, trying to hide from him. She looked behind her to see Ron pushing his way into the crowd. Someone took her hand, pulling her into a book store.

"Need a back room private, no visitors." Draco's voice barked out from beneath a dark hooded cloak as he spoke to a man in a blue vest. He pointed Draco to the back, to what looked to be a dead end. Hermione thought about pulling away, to run away from Malfoy too. She took one look out the window to see Ron getting closer to the store and that made her want a private room. Draco led her to the back wall and behind a shelf of books.

As he opened a hidden door, Hermione heard Ron come in the front of the shop to call out to her. Draco tugged her inside and the door sealed it shut, locking them inside. She pulled away from him, sniffling a bit. "I thought you planned to marry him still." She glared at him as he lowered his hood. "What happen, you crumbled and told him we shagged all ready?" The git was rubbing it in her face and he damn well knew it too.

"Shut the hell up!" She snapped at him, dropping her hands and balling them into fists. "It not my fault I am not a two-faced liar like you! I can't just look at the man I love and act as if I've done nothing wrong..." She huffed at him, but Draco seemed unfazed by it. "It's just a set back; I will marry Ron just as soon as I can freeze my heart over like you." Draco took a few steps toward her, making her get ready to scream something more, but he covered her month with his hand.

"It's a private room, not a sound proof one Granger." He smirked as she glared at him, both knowing they could make it sound proof in a heartbeat. "I figured this would happen as soon as you saw him. You just don't have what it takes to pull off the deal you made with me, not to say I wasn't pissed off when you made it." His face twisted up in anger before he let go of her. "I had half a mind to let him catch you, but in your state you would have told him all about our shag and I really don't want to deal with that."

"I should have guessed you only pulled me in here to save your own hide." She hissed at him, feeling the need to slap him or maybe punch him. It looked like he was about to hiss something back at her when a thumping sound came from the wall. "Great, looks like he found us anyways…Now where the hell do I go…he knows all my hiding places."

"Guess you need a new one," Draco smiled, pulling her to him as Ron's voice came through the door. Her eyes widened as she heard him scream 'Hermione I know you're in there with someone!' Draco leaned down to kiss her lips and whisper his address in her ear. He then stepped back and apparated to it. As Ron shouted he was coming in Hermione repeated the address as quick as she could. Seconds later, she stood in a small apartment kitchen. Looking around, she saw the living room on the left, the bath room at the end of the kitchen and the exit behind her. Draco stepped out of a room at the end of the kitchen and on the left "Glade to see you could make it," He teased.

She glared at him before turning to open the door. "It was a panic. Move, I am leaving now!" she hissed as she turned the knob. Malfoy's voice filled her ears as he closed the space between them.

"Where are you going to go? It's Friday, not many hotels will have space. And if you got lucky enough to find a room, as soon as you signed in Ron could find you. He knows all your other hiding places. Plus, he knows all your friends and family." That smirk curled over his lips. "So where you going to hide now?" She lowered her head as she felt his warm breath on her neck. "Stay here for the weekend." He started to kiss down her neck as he pulled her body against his. "By Monday you'll have a plan."

She turned in his arms before throwing hers around his neck and kissing him deeply. She knew he was right, her life was a mess and she needed time away from her friends to fix it. She heard the door close and lock behind her. "Take off your shoe's then," He breathed out as he ran his hands up her sides. Kicking off her shoes, she jumped into his arms. Still kissing like crazy, she felt Draco moving them back down the kitchen and to the room he had come out of. It turned out to be his bedroom; she couldn't believe how small of place it was as they undressed each other.

He laid her back on the bed as his lips kissed down her body to her breasts. They were already excited for his touch. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she just left Ron. So she wasn't cheating this time around, which could be considered a very small plus. A sudden knock at Draco's door broke them out of their lust trace. She looked up into Draco's face, scared that Ron had found her. All of a sudden she realized she wanted the oddest thing: She wanted Draco to protect her from him. 'That's so weird. I've never wanted anyone to protect me.'

Draco got up, giving her a quick kiss as he tossed on a black rob and went to the front door. She heard a voice of a man she didn't know, making her relax some. This gave Hermione time to think about things other then his touch. One of which was why on earth was Draco living in such a small place. He had inherited a lot of money after his parents died, plus his old house which was huge. She reached to get dressed seeing that Draco's visitor wasn't going away. It was then Hermione realized she had nothing to wear but the cloths on her back. "Bloody hell," She hissed, getting up and peeking into the kitchen.

Draco stood with an older man, talking about the yard at his parent's house. She waited until the older man left before exiting the bedroom. Draco turned to see her, frowning as soon as he did. "Why'd you get dressed?" He asked as he pulled her into his arms. "Now I have to undress you all over again," He teased a bit as he ran his hands up her side.

"Draco, stop it…I need to go," She said, moving out of his arms to make her way to the door.

"I thought we had been over this," He groaned, taking hold of her arm.

"I'll be right back; I just need to get something. Like a change of clothes, toothbrush and my toothpaste. I refuse to smell bad in anyway just because my life is a mess." She said, removing his hand from her arm. She heard him huff a little as he stepped back saying 'fine'. She put on her shoes before apparating into a black ally next to her home. She quickly used magic to make sure there were no signs of Ron in or out of her house. She then went inside and packed a very small bag. She didn't want to call things to her because Ron could track them and find her. Draco must have known that, making him not fight with her for once.

Once her bag was ready she swung it over her shoulder. Something stopped her, making her jump a mile high. Turning around, she saw Ginny looking at her with a raised brow. "Your door was unlocked," She explained before looking at the bag. "Going somewhere?" By the sounds of Ginny's voice she hadn't heard the news yet.

"Yes, I have to go now," She said as she heard people coming up the steps. Ron and Harry called out her name. "Owl you later!" She shrieked before apparating back into the ally and then back to Draco's place. Just to make sure Ginny didn't get Draco address. She was being overly careful, she know of course, but there was no way she was going to stand there and explain to all three of her closet friends she was shagging Malfoy.

When she got back to Draco's place she took off her shoes. Draco was in his living room typing away on a wizard's labtop. He smirked when he saw her standing in the doorway. "Get all you need?" He asked softly, making her skin prickle.

"Yes…Where should I put this?" She asked uneasily at the idea of putting it anywhere in Malfoy's place. He told her the bedroom was fine. He even showed her something she'd missed before. Draco's place was so small that the living room and bedroom were connected. Not including the bathroom there were only three rooms. Her face must have shown what she was thinking because Draco came up behind her saying softly. "The more space you have the more ways people can get in and hurt you."

She looked up at him while he took her bag and set it on a dresser. "I learned that the hard way during the war…Spent three whole months living in a hole under a tree. That was after the attack of _Kinveral. _Before I had been staying in a large home with a few other people… I barely got away alive that night. The people I was with were not so lucky."

Everyone had bad memories of the war, but seeing as Draco had led a small band of double agents; it wasn't very hard to guess just how much worse it was for him. He had to send people on dangers missions, like delivering battle plans to Harry. He had to choose what information he could tell the Dark Lord to keep himself alive while not getting to many of the good guys killed and worst of all, he had to hide from both sides. "The war is over, I don't think you need to worry about it," She said without thinking.

"That's what you think," He slightly hissed before turning away from her. "The war maybe over, but I made a lot of enemies during that time who are still out there and still want me dead…I can't not worry, it's not a luxury I was given like the rest of you." There was an awkward silence for a long moment. "I am going to make dinner, would you care to help?"

"You cook?" She said in a joking tone, trying to get ride of the tension.

"Something I picked up over the years," He teased slightly, lightening the mood. The two of them moved into the kitchen and made a nice dinner. Draco wasn't a good cook, in fact he was terrible. But Hermione didn't have to ask or even wonder why he didn't hire someone to do it for him. It was quite clear the man was paranoid more than she had been moments before when running from her friends.

As the mood slightly lightened, Hermione forgot her problems and messy life. She didn't know what it was really, but seeing this unknown side of Draco was like reading a new book she knew nothing about. It was around nine o'clock when she asked to use his shower before slipping off to bed. Her mind had been working on a plan all throughout dinner and into the time she and Draco did a little work on their list of potions. As it turned out, he did have one more room, hidden behind a closet. It was where he made his potions and what not.

She had just stepped into the shower when she heard Draco enter the bathroom. "I'm coming in," He said softly before getting in behind her. If she wasn't the smartest witch of her year she would have thought how romantic it all was. But as Draco's soft wet body pressed to her, she was thinking 'I miss Ron'.


	3. get your feet wet

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As Draco's body pressed to hers she could feel his arms wrap around her. His lips finding their way to her neck as his hands roamed over her body. She moaned, leaning back into him as one of his hands moved down her stomach and into the soft hair between her legs. "Draco…Stop it! I'm trying to wash my hair," She moaned as his hand moved her legs apart.

"Oh," He breathed heavily on her neck, groping her body. She moaned louder, loving his touch on her body. She loved how Draco wasn't afraid to experiment with his sex life. With Ron it was like a play you knew by heart because you loved it, you kept going back, but it never changed; it was always the same. With Draco it was always unexpected, new and exciting. Even though they had just started playing with each other, Hermione knew that would never change.

As she was thrown against the shower wall to be shagged, Hermione looked into his lust filled eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a wild animal. Something inside her clicked like a switch to a light. As she was fucked wildly and enjoying the feeling, she found the answer to why she had slept with Draco in the first place. It was so clear it was amazing she had never seen it before.

Once they had both got what they wanted and cleaned off, Hermione climbed out to send Ron a letter. She was so deep in thought she hadn't noticed Draco was talking to her, until he took her hand. "Wait's on your mind?" He asked in her ear softly.

"I miss Ron and I'm going to tell him so," She said sharply.

(July 7th 4:30 am)

Draco lay in bed, wondering what he was doing wrong. He went over yesterday's events, trying to see where he had messed up. First, he gave Hermione a place to hide for while. She hadn't said it straight out, but he could tell she thought his place was too small. In other words, it wasn't good enough for her. That fact bothered him and he had tried to explain that it was important he keep it small. That only proved to make her think he was paranoid.

So he tried to please her by making her dinner as a way of showing her he was a normal guy and he could do more then look pretty. Again, she didn't say it straight out, but he knew she hadn't been pleased with his cooking. He had seen her stick her noise in the air as if she was used to a much more refined meal or something. This too, upset him and he couldn't understand how she could be so ungrateful for his effort. He shook it off, not bothering to say anything.

Instead, he suggested they do some work and try to relax. It had turned out to be a good idea; they got along very well the whole time. Then he had thought he'd give her a thrilling shag in the shower. A little treat for both of them seeing as they had such a long hard day. After words, when he thought he had finely pleased her, he had asked her if he had done so. What he found was she wasn't even thinking of him during the shag. He was so deeply insulted by it he had felt like screaming.

Instead, he just shoved passed her and hissed "Whatever" before going to bed. He heard her working hard on a letter to her beloved for the better part of the night. She had never come to bed, probably knowing how pissed off he was. The truth was he wasn't even sure she was still there. Around one a.m. he heard her say 'done' and that was it, not another sound had been made since.

As five o'clock rolled around, Draco sat up and wondered if he would ever please her. He had never thought Hermione to be the kind of girl that would be faltered by money or power, but after yesterday he had to reconsider that notion. He wasn't sure if anything he did would ever please her, just because it was him. As he got dressed for the day he couldn't understand why it had become so important in the first place.

Brushing out his long blond hair, he tried to think of what reason he had for doing all he had done. Hermione kept saying it was just sex and nothing more, but if that were true why did he want to keep her, please her, and make her stay with him? He had had just sex many a time and never did he feel any need to return to that lover after getting it. No, it was something much deeper than sex, something he had long forgotten and buried with his parents. Something he could no longer trust no matter how much he wanted to.

Pulling open his cabinet, he looked for a quite meal before starting his day. Finding some bread he made himself some toast. After a moment of thinking about what he should do with himself, he wondered if she was still there. 'Humph she probably went back to the weasel.' He grumbled before looking into his living room. Sure enough, he found Hermione was no longer there. "I don't need her!" He growled as anger flowed through him, covering up the fact he was hurt she left without so much as a 'later'.

He went through his place to see if she had left anything behind, only to find that she had managed to sneak it all out without him noticing. Sitting down on the edge of his bed, he let his hands hide his face. Truth be told, Hermione had been his first house guest since the war. People said it was over, but for him it seemed like it had never ended. Maybe he had become paranoid over the years, but what reason did he have not to be?

Standing to straighten himself out, Draco fixed his face so it looked like he felt nothing at all inside. He then went into town, to prove he was not bothered by anything or anyone. He ended up in a muggle zoo, sitting alone on a park bench in front of the tiger cage. He wasn't really looking at the animals. His eyes were on the many happy families passing through. He would watch as families of three would get to the tiger cage. The child would always 'oo' and 'ah' as its parents held their hand, speaking about the great beast before them.

Draco took a long look at the animal in the cage that the muggles called a great beast. The animal looked rather sad all by its self in a small little cage. It lifted its head to look at him and as their eyes met, they knew they were one in the same. Draco felt a deep sadness for the once great beast. He had never been much of an animal lover seeing as most animals didn't like him either. Standing, he moved off to look at something less upsetting.

He thought about leaving his job and England all together. To go out into the world and find something more than a woman he could never please. The only thing stopping him was the fact that she might think he was running away from whatever they had. He made his way back towards home before he passed a flower shop. He spotted some pink roses: his mother's favorite flower. Moments later, he found himself at his parent's grave putting the roses down. He had to clean the grave plot because people had come to write nasty things and trash on it.

The grounds keeper only came in once a week, so even if he had complained it would have done him little good. Tears built up at the brink of his eye as he sat down on the grass to spend some quality family time with the only two people to ever really care about him. This was something he did once a week out of respect for his lost loved ones. 'Love, what a bunch of crap…There no such thing as love, just lust and need' He thought as he heard some small birds singing behind him. He listened to the sounds around him until the sun went down.

Draco stood up, heading back to the zoo. He was thinking that he may have to suffer in his cage forever, but the tiger didn't. Standing in front of the tiger's cage, he looked for the wild animal. The large cat was laying on a rock that had been placed in the cage for him. "Come on kitty were busting you out of here."

(July 8 9: 45am)

Hermione was kind of scared as she opened the door to see Ron's worried face. "I got your letter," he said softly, holding it up to show her. She nodded, letting him inside to talk about what the letter said. She knew he had a lot of questions and, for the most part, she had answers to them, except anything pertaining to Draco. "I don't know where to begin," he whispered, sitting down at her table.

"That's ok Ron," She sat down across from him, giving a weak smile. "I would have told you sooner, but I just realized it myself only a few days ago." He looked at her, waiting for a better explanation. "I feel like I've never done anything crazy. I'm playing it safe and not taking any chances with my life. I still love you, but I can't get married yet. I'm not ready to settle down…I need to out in the dating world and get my feet wet. If…if I don't Ron, I'll always feel like I missed something."

"And what am I to do while you're getting your feet wet, just sit around and wait for you?" He questioned in a harsh voice, not understanding why she needed to date other people.

"Of course not Ron, you should do the same thing I am. Get out there and meet other women, live it up a little." She could see he wasn't going for that idea either. "Look, other than the few high school romances that don't really count, you and I have never tried to play the field. We started dating because our friends told us we were meant to be. But what if they were wrong? What happens then?" He didn't say anything; he just looked at his feet. "I'll tell you Ron: we'll be filled with regret, which will turn to anger; we'll fight a lot but will stick it out for awhile. In the end we'll have a bitter divorce that will kill our friendship and I just can't let that happen…For the good of our marriage I am going to play the field until I feel I am ready."

"Alright fine, but what happens if while we're playing the field you come to that point and you come back to me to find I found someone else. Hmm, then what?" He hissed at her much as Draco had the other night after there shower shag. She let out a deep breath, thinking it over before answering.

"I'd be sad of course, but I'll be happy for you too." She smiled at him "I'd be glad I broke it off with you because you never would have found love with another if we rushed into a marriage we were not ready for…In other words Ron, I'll take that chance." Ron stood up sharply, snapping a 'fine' but he made no other move to leave. "We'll still date, but it will be slow and more free." He sat back down, saying a soft 'ok'. They talked about how their new dating life would be and although Ron was not happy about it, he agreed to it.

"There is just one thing I want to know Hermione," Ron said, looking at her for a truthful answer. "Who the hell was that guy with you in the book store? I knew he was with you, I saw him holding your hand…Is…is he your new boyfriend or something?" Hermione felt a deep pain as she bit her lip, trying to think of how to answer Ron without lying and without telling him she was seeing Draco on the side.

"No he not my boyfriend…He is a co-worker who knew about the problem I was having and was helping me out," She said softly, without giving Ron the person's name.

"Who? What co-worker was it?" Ron demanded, making Hermione sigh.

"You're not going to like it…" She said, looking up to see him glaring as he folded his arms over his chest. "It was Dra…" She didn't even get to finish his name as Ron's ears turned pink and he stood up screaming.

"HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU TELL THAT GIT ANYTHING ABOUT US!" His face was beat red as he stormed to the door. "I can't even look at you!" He hissed before storming away and slamming the door shut, making her flinch.

'Gods, if that how he reacts thinking I just talked to Draco, imagine what he'd do if he knew I slept with him.' After a long while she decided it was best to go talk to her boy toy and make sure he was still willing to be her boy toy. She changed, making herself a little sexier looking before apparating near Draco's place. She knocked on the door wondering just how unpleased he'd be to see her. As the door opened Hermione could see Draco looked injured.

He glared at her for a long moment, waiting to hear what she wanted. Hermione looked over him, wondering where he was injured. "What do you want woman?" Draco hissed, drawing her out of her trance. She asked if she could come in and he let her. Once alone in his little kitchen, she turned to him.

"I want to date you, but in secret." She said flatly, making Draco looked confused. They had a lot to talk about and it all came down to: was he willing to help her get her feet wet?


	4. a grateful kiss

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(July 14th 11am)

Today was an awkward day for Hermione. Her whole week had been very awkward due to her choice to get her feet wet. Her friends seemed unsure of what to talk about with her. They were not sure if they should be mad or sad or just ok and Ron kept asking her if she had a date yet or did he have to ask for a date. It was all awkward, and then to make it all the more strange, there was Draco who had gotten hurt somehow but said he was fine. He had agreed to see her in private, but he too seemed just as bothered with the idea of her dating other men as Ron was.

Today, as she stood in the graveyard with her friends and other students from her old school, it was more awkward than before. Professor McGonagall had passed away and seeing as she had known the woman quite well, along with many others she had gone to the funeral. Draco had even shown to give his condolences. She looked across the crowd as the coffin was being lowered into the ground. He was looking somewhere else; Hermione followed his gaze to see two large grave stones standing off in the distance. She gathered it was his parents' plot he was looking at.

As she talked to many people who she didn't remember, she lost track of Draco. It was when she was standing with her three friends making awkward chit chat that she saw him again. He was making his way toward his family plot. Something told her she should stay were she was, but her feet moved her away as she said she had to do something. She wasn't sure if her friends saw where she was going or even who she was following. She just walked toward the place she had seen him go.

As she got closer, her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. Draco was trying to wash the words 'murdering monster' off his father's head stone. There were many other nasty things written on them like 'Hooray, they're dead', 'Baby eater' and one large one on his mother's gave stone that read 'dirty slut'. And that was just the beginning; people had thrown garbage all over the plot in such a manner that one would have to dig some of it up to get rid of it all. She had never in her life seen such disrespect for the dead. She hadn't really known his parents in life, but even if they were monsters in life, they didn't deserve this.

She had to say the worst part was watching their only child clean it up. He shouldn't have had to clean their gravesite. It wasn't right in anyway what so ever. The poor man lost his whole family and now he couldn't even be satisfied in knowing their final resting place would be left undisturbed. As she stood there the grounds keeper came up next to her. "At it again I see," He said, making her jump before turning to look at him and wonder what he meant.

The man pointed to Draco. "He comes very week and cleans it up. And every week people come back to mess it up again. Makes you wonder why he even bothers." He gave Hermione a little smile. "I stopped bothering after the first year. Clean that damn gravesite every week; finally I just said fuck it." Hermione was disgusted to hear what he said.

"You should be fired then," She snapped before walking away from the man to see if she could help Draco. She stopped at the foot of the mess, watching a bit as he finished removing the word murderer. "Draco?" She said, making him stop what he was doing. He didn't say a single world, he just stood there. "Would you like help?" Slowly he got down from the stone and walked over to her.

She gave him a weary look, unsure if she had crossed a line or something. "Your friends are coming this way…You should go be with them." She gave him a small smile before nodding and going back to her friends. Once back with them, she asked them to help her find out who owned the graveyard. Draco may not want her to help him clean up his family plot, but she'd be damned if she stand by and let it happen again.

"What is on your mind Hermione?" Harry asked, drawing her out of her thoughts. He hadn't gotten close enough to see what she had seen.

"I'm pissed the fuck off," She said, making everyone raise a brow. She wasn't big on swearing. "I went to ask Malfoy something about work and well he was at his family's plot." Her face was getting all red as she explained what it looked like and what the grounds keeper said to her. "I mean can you believe that! What if that was my parent's grave and he was saying that to me! I'm going to complain and I hope he loses his job!"

"Well Herm' if it happens every week I'd get sick of it too," Ron said, trying to see the grounds keepers' point of view. Hermione glared daggers at him as her hands balled up.

"Ronald Weasley how could you say something so cold hearted? What if that was your brother's grave stone hmm? Would you be so forgiving then?" It didn't take a second for that thought to make everyone feel guilty as if they had been the ones writing nasty things on the Malfoy's grave stones. "That's what I thought," She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "They should put spells up to keep vandals out of here anyways."

(2:30pm)

As Hermione stood with her friends in front of the graveyard owner Mr. Demo, they each told the man how upset they were about it. However, it was when Harry told the guy his name that Mr. Demo decided he had to do something to stop people from messing with the Malfoy's grave plot. Before hand he just nodded, rolling his eyes at them. Hermione had half a mind to curse Mr. Demo, but when he changed his tone she knew how to get her way.

"Well Mr. Demo, I will be checking into your progress on this daily and I'm sure the newspaper would _love _to hear about it, don't you?" Mr. Demo said in a scared little voice that there was no need to draw attention to the problem, and that he'd get it taken care of. He also said he'd fire that grounds keeper for not reporting the problem himself. He even said he owed Draco a personal apology for not taking care of it sooner. "I'll be looking forward to asking my co-worker about that," She added as a way of sticking it to the jerk

Watching the man run off to the gravesite to see if Draco was still there was the best part of all. She smiled at Harry "Thanks for helping guys."

(July 16th 7:30am)

As Hermione entered her office she saw Draco at his desk. She only half-shut the door as she hung up her coat. Draco came up behind her to take her in his arms and gave her a deep passionate kiss. When he pulled back he whispered a husky 'thanks'. Her knees had gone a little weak from the kiss. "Wow that was some kiss," She breathed out before saying, "Don't mention it Draco, when I saw what people had done to your family's gravesite, I was rip-snorting mad." She smiled a bit at him "So I enlisted some help and we all demanded something be done about it."

"Well, tell your friends I said thank you," He said softly. Neither one of them knew that someone had overheard what they said to each other. With in an hour everyone in the office knew Hermione had gotten kissed by Draco for helping him with a problem with his family's gravesite. It would be around ten when the gossip left the office and started to be told all over the building.

As Hermione left to meet her friends for lunch she noticed the looks she was getting and had been getting all morning. 'Why is every one looking at me like that?' she wondered, stopping on the bottom step to watch someone she didn't even know give her a gitty grin. 'What are my boobs showing?' She wondered as her two male friends joined her. She looked up to see Ron slightly glaring at her and Harry giving this very uneasy look.

"Is it true?" Ginny said, coming up behind her with wide eyes. It took Hermione a moment to realize she was talking to her. When she raised an eye brow as if to ask 'is what true', Ginny rolled her eyes. "Was Malfoy really so grateful that we helped him out he kissed you?" Deep shades of red ran over her face as she finally knew why people were giving her cheeky looks.

"Oh my gods! He did kiss you!" Ginny squealed in her excitement, forgetting just how awkward this was for her and Ron. "Was it good? What he say? Tell me!" Ginny half jumped up and down. Hermione swallowed, seeing how pissed off Ron looked.

"It was unexpected…he said thank you and to tell you all he was grateful…But that was it Ginny, nothing else happened," Hermione said, trying to get the color out of her face. "After that he went back to his desk and we haven't spoken." Ginny made a pouty face at her words. "Let's go to lunch," Hermione said, trying to drop it. Harry agreed with this as Ginny tugged along behind them and Ron angry walked with them.

"So are you thinking of going out with him?" Ginny asked as they got to a diner. Hermione could feel Ron's eyes on her back, burning holes into her.

"No, Ginny I'm not," She breathed out, trying not to let Ron's looks get to her. "Draco was just grateful, heck I bet he would have kissed Harry he was so damn grateful!" She sat down as Harry said 'I hope the fuck not'. She smiled at him "All I'm saying is it was a kiss of gratitude and nothing more, you're reading way too much into it."

"Oh is that so?" Ron snapped suddenly, making everyone around him jump. "First you're talking to him about our love life, then you make us all help you fix his problem and now you're being kissed by him?" He glared at her "You might as well go on a date with him! And show him how grateful you are for his kiss! " The way Ron had snapped it, it sounded like she was a cheep whore.

"Maybe I should!" She snapped back at him as they both glared angrily at each other. That was when Ginny made a little squeak of an 'I'm sorry' to them both, knowing it was her fault they were fighting at that moment. Hermione huffed a bit, looking down at the table. "This is silly. We're all over reacting…Let's just drop it ok?" She looked back at Ron who was still clearly mad, but he agreed he was just being silly.

(4:30pm)

Draco was getting ready to leave for the day as the door opened. He didn't even bother to look up as he heard some heaving breathing from the doorway. He knew it was Ron standing in the doorway. "She left about four minutes ago, you might be able to catch her if you run," Draco said, putting the last thing he had out away. He heard the door shut, but Ron hadn't left.

Draco looked up to see a red face leering at him. 'Oh hell, he heard about the kiss too' Draco thought, knowing it had been all over the office all day. A few people had asked him if he was planning on asking Hermione out. He watched as Ron moved toward his desk. Draco made sure to keep it between them. "What did you think you were doing?" Ron hissed as Draco picked up his cloak.

"She's single and I'm grateful" Draco informed him, putting his cloak on before looking over at Ron. He could tell the man wanted to beat him up, but Draco always pushed his luck. "I've been thinking of asking her out to dinner." He added, making Ron growl and hiss a 'In your dreams' at him. Draco had known Hermione was upset with Ron for something and he was guessing this was it.

As Ron went to move toward Draco and start a fist fight, the door opened making the fool stop in his tracks. Hermione looked at the two of them, showing she knew what was going on. "I forgot to sign the new list," She said coldly, walking over to her desk. Draco walked passed Ron, knowing the fool wouldn't try a thing with her standing right there. She looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Hermione, I've been thinking," He said softly to her, watching her glace over his shoulder at Ron. "I feel just terrible for embarrassing you this morning with that kiss." She looked back at him with a little smirk and mouthed 'you're bad'. He gave her an evil smirk back. "I'd like to make it up to you, say dinner at my place? Maybe, Friday night around 6 or so. Don't answer me just yet, think it over and get back to me." He then winked at her.

"Hmm, a free meal paid for by you?" She asked, making him nodded. They both walked to the door. "I do enjoy free food…but I'd have to be with you, boy that's a tough choice." He laughed lightly as they stopped in the doorway. "If I agree to it, you have to…" She put her finger to her lip wanting to get something out of it. "You have to tell me how you got injured last week."

He looked her over, wondering if she meant it. Draco considered it and decided seeing Ron squirm was well worth it. "All right, you come to dinner and I'll tell you what happened, you have my word on that." He put out his hand for her to shake; she took it saying, 'I'll get back to you on it then.' The two of them left the office, leaving a swearing Weasely behind.

"Take your time Herm' there's no rush" Draco said loud enough to make sure Ron heard him. As they parted ways at the end of the hall, Draco saw Ron following him. Once Hermione was out of sight he shouted 'You're a dead man Malfoy!' and proceed to charge at Draco like a bull.


	5. Dates

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione opened her door only to gasp as she looked into Ron's black and blue face. He looked like he had been in a school yard fight with someone. "You can't go out with Malfoy, I forbid it!" He growled without so much as a hello. Hermione let it sink in, she didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was true.

"Ronald did you attack him?" She half-whispered angrily. A light smile came over his lips, making any doubt Hermione might have had slip away. "What the hell were you thinking?! You knew damn well Draco only asked me to piss you off and I was just mad about what you said at lunch…I can't believe you!" She wasn't sure why, but she felt like laughing.

"That git got what was coming to him…" Ron snapped, wiping his bloody nose as he looked at her. "If security hadn't stepped in I would have won!" Hermione couldn't take it; she started to laugh at how absurd it was. She tried her best to remain angry, but it was hard seeing as she was laughing while she scolded Ron.

"Ron…ald, you can't…go beating…up men…or Draco just…because they ask me out!" Ron apparently didn't find what he had done as amusing as she did. She whisped tears out of her eyes. "Besides even if…I wanted to go out…with him Friday, I couldn't." She swallowed hard, trying to contain herself "I already have a date with someone."

"WHAT?" He growled, not liking it "Who?" He asked Hermione as she straightened herself out.

"None of your business," She snapped at him, getting more serious. "I'm not telling you anything about my dating life seeing how you can't control yourself. I'm not going to let you scare off my dates."

"Hey he was asking for it and I want to approve these gits you're seeing." Ron said defiantly as he sniffed a bit. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't care if he was Ron, you have proven to me you can't handle this," She said, stepping back from the door. "And as for you forbidding me from dating him, get real! I am a single woman and I can date who I want to!" She then slammed the door shut in Ron's face. 'Wonder how bad Draco looks?' She thought as a little smile slid over her lips. Moments later she was knocking on his door. Draco opened it to show he had a black eye as well as a cut lip, eye brow and cheek. She just started to laugh again, saying 'You two are acting like children.' Draco's only defense to that was 'He started it.'

(September 1, 6:15pm)

Draco was pissed off beyond belief. His girlfriend had stood him up, again! He found that after her first date, Hermione had got to business. Not with work, oh no, she was busy with her other dates. She made tons of them every week to the point he was lucky to see her outside of work at all. He and the Weasel had to make dates with her weeks in advices and sometimes, like tonight, she double booked and he was stood up!

The only comfort he had was knowing that he and Weasley were the only ones she was sleeping with. 'Some comfort' he hissed as he slump down in his chair. He knew it was only a matter of time before she started to get really involved with another person and started to sleep around some. He didn't like it one bit, but he couldn't put his foot down or Hermione would dump him.

He had seen that happen to a few guys who tried to make her date them and them alone. She cut them loose without so much as a flinch, declaring no one would tell her what she could do. Ron had come close to it the other day. He wanted Hermione to go with him to a party and when she said she already had a date, he had got mad, saying they always went together and he was sick of waiting for her. Hermione had just said sharply 'Well, you can stop waiting for me anytime you please Ronald. There are plenty of men out there; I don't need you bugging me to settle down when I've just started to live it up!'

Draco sighed as he looked at the dinner he had made for them. He couldn't blame her for wanting to live it up. After all, she and Ron had never really tried it before. Their high school years were filled with war mostly and after that, they had got engaged. Draco picked at his chicken; he was with the weasel on the 'tired of waiting' thing, but not for the same reasons. He wasn't sure why Ron was already sick of waiting, maybe he was just having a hard time letting go.

Draco, however, had been playing the field far too long. Hermione didn't know it, but she was the only girl he was seeing. He would never say he was in love with her, but he couldn't deny how happy she made him feel when she was with him and him alone. He spent many nights lying awake, thinking of her and what kind of life they could have together. They still had disagreements on things, but what couple didn't? He wasn't sure if Hermione had even considered what a life with him would be like. That was another one of his nightly thoughts: would she even consider marrying him if he had asked?

She had taken to giving him cooking lessons as away to improve his skills. He didn't mind it anymore, at first he was upset about it, but when she started to enjoy his cooking he no longer minded. He had even gotten a cook book to improve some more and to surprise her with tonight's dinner. But just because he had become a better cook didn't mean she'd marry him someday. He was worried that he was wasting his time trying to win her over. He still had no idea why he wanted to keep her in his life, all he knew was the thought of losing her would bring him to tears.

The word _lonely_ had come to mind many times over the years. Without his parents Draco found he had no family to spend holidays with. As for friends, most of his died during the war and those that didn't die were now in jail, hating him for putting them there with his band of spies. He had tried to make new friends, work hard and date as many women as he could.

It had made no difference: he still had no new friends, because everyone knew who he was and hated him for one reason or another. He was still in the same job being paid a little more money now then he was paid six years ago. He knew Hermione was making a lot more than him, but he never complained about how unfair it was, seeing as he worked just as good and hard as she did. Plus, he knew complaining would only get him marked as a complainer. As for women, he had dated many over the years.

He didn't believe in love so unless he was after sex he dated women that were well off. He found a lot of well off gold diggers in the groups. Not too bright, pretty girls who would make fools of themselves and him when ever they opened their mouths. Or girls who enjoyed sex with a good looking man, but couldn't be happy with just one good looking man in their bed. Draco even had one woman try to get him to have gay sex with another man and let her watch it. Needless to say, he dumped her very quickly. His final words to her were: 'I'm not that desperate to keep seeing you.'

Hermione was none of those things, which made her a great catch. Draco had started to tell himself that was why he was after her, but he knew there was more to it than that. As he pushed his green beans around his plate he thought back to the tiger he had set free. It had been quite a feat seeing as the animal acted scared to leave it cage. He had to crate it before he could get it out and then when he was leaving a muggle cop car had pulled up and the fools shot him. Draco and his tiger friend had got away, but he had lost a lot of blood. He had healed himself before sending the tiger back to its home land with a few spells. 'Wonder how long it lived?'

A knock on his front door pulled Draco away from his cold dinner and thoughts of his freed friend. Hermione stood on his door step looking rather upset. "What's wrong?" Draco asked as he let her in out of the rain. She sniffed slightly as her wet hair slid out of its bun. "Did that guy try to hurt you?" Draco asked, getting ready to go kill someone.

"No," She said softly, slumping down into the chair he had just been sitting in while tears ran down a face that was covered in running make up. He knelt down, asking her what the problem was. Hermione threw her arms around him, crying that Ron had showed up on her date. He had attacked her date, a muggle accountant, who was something called a nerd. After hurting her date, he declared if she didn't come back to him, he'd hurt himself. Then he went on to say she was acting like a slut and it was unattractive.

"Hermione," Draco said softly while she cleaned her face off. "You didn't tell him you'd stop did you?" She looked down at her hands shaking her head 'no'. "Good, listen to me, you can't give in to him. He's just having trouble letting go." He kissed her forehead. "And you're not acting like a slut; you're just having some fun. There's nothing wrong with that. You just keep having fun and don't let that weasel ruin it for you." She smiled at him before asking if she could use his shower. "Sure and when you're done I got a big t-shirt with your name on it and we can re-heat this dinner. Sound good?" She smiled, kissing his lips and softly whispering 'thank you for being so understanding'.

(September 2, 10:00am)

Draco saw Ron standing with Potter on a street corner. He had just left Hermione at a muggle store. She said she wanted to buy him a TV and DVD player as thanks and as something they could do together. He had no idea what they were, but it seemed to make her smile, so he let her do it. Draco made his way over to Ron before roughly shoving the other man into a wall and holding him there. He felt Potter's wand on his neck, but he didn't let go as he snarled.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Hermione showed up at my house last night balling her eyes out, saying you attacked her date, threatened to hurt yourself if she didn't come back to you and called her a slut!" He felt Potter pull his wand away, asking if it was true. Draco just finished what he started. "I swear to the gods Weasel if you try and make her feel bad for living a little or try and push her into coming back to you one more time, I will make your life a living hell" He then backed away, looking at Potter. "You can ask Hermione yourself, she's in the muggle store call wal-mart down the street."

Draco then walked away to finish his shopping. He needed to buy some food, lizard eyes, books and roses for his mother. Hermione was going to spend the day getting the TV and DVD player thing working. Plus, she was getting some DVDs and said she'd had to get a lot because she didn't know what he'd like. Draco had given her a key to his place and some money, saying the DVDs were his half of it. After that, he sent his food home and went to his now very clean family plot.

(1:30pm)

Hermione smiled as she and Harry rigged the new TV up. "I still can't believe Ron did that." Harry said as he was working a spell to give the muggle objects electricity. Hermione sighed as she worked on transfiguring a toy TV stand into a real one.

"Draco said Ron just having a hard time letting go…" She sighed, looking at Harry. "I am kind of glad his place was only a few blocks away from the restraint. I was really upset last night; to the point it wasn't safe for me to apparate anywhere." Once their spells were working, they set it up. Harry had found her in the DVD aisle and explained that he had just heard what happened from Draco. He then helped her pick stuff out and carry it back to Draco's place.

They talked while she put food away. They discussed about her seemingly friendly relationship with Draco. She told Harry that Draco had become a good friend over the passed few months. She told him she believed it was because of what she did for his parents'. She knew she was lying, but she still wasn't ready to let people knew she was sleeping with the man. As they put in a DVD to see if it worked, Draco opened the front door. She smiled, waving at him as Harry gave a slight wave himself. "Hope you don't mind me having Harry here, I needed a hand"

Draco shrugged, putting his keys on the table. "Not a problem…Is that stuff the muggle TV and DVD stuff?" He seemed at ease as he took off his shoes and joined them. Hermione explained each thing to him, showing him how to use them. "The red button is to turn it on right?" He asked when she told him to turn it on. She smiled, nodding a little. The three of them watched as the screen came to life with _Pirates of the Caribbean._ Draco smiled a little before saying "Can't go wrong with pirates."


	6. come away with me

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(December 3, 8:05pm)

"Mr. Malfoy are you listening to me?" Mrs. Landers, Draco's boss, asked as she sat down on his desk. It was a late night at the office for him. There had been a mix-up somewhere down the line over a potion he had declared unfit for the public. Somehow it had gotten a better mark with his name on it and now he was trying to prove he had not given it the green light.

"Yes, Mrs. Landers I know this is a big mess, but I swear I marked the potion as highly unstable." He looked through another folder before finding his copy of what he wrote. Pulling it out, he smiled, "Here it is." He handed her the paper, showing her he was telling the truth. "See, I wrote that it was unstable; therefore it is unsafe for the public…I don't know how it could have been switched."

Mrs. Landers looked it over, nodding. "As much as this is good news for you and your job here…It also means someone messed with the labels for some reason and tried to frame you for it." She looked at Draco for a moment. "Does anyone in the office have a reason to do this to you…Or anyone else for that matter?"

"Mrs. Landers, if you have forgotten I'm Draco Malfoy. The whole wizarding world has a reason to try and frame me." She nodded, getting off of his desk.

"Then I take it you'll want to show this to the board yourself?" She asked, handing him back the paper that would clear his name.

"Yes, I would." He then followed her to the board room to find a large group of old men and women trying to get all the potions brought back in. Draco walked right up to the head of the group, and he put the paper down in front of the man. "It's just as I thought, I did declare the potion too dangerous." The man looked it over before asking his boss if she had seen him find it in an old folder. When his boss reply she had, Draco was told he could go home. Draco had left to get his things and do just that when Mrs. Landers took his arm. He stopped to look at her.

"Jack Reed is retiring next week, as you know, and your name was brought up as a possible replacement for him." Draco couldn't believe his ears. That was a huge promotion. Mr. Reed was in charge of half his department. "Yours and a few others, but only yours and Ms. Granger's name kept being brought up." Well that was that, Hermione would get it because, well, she was Hermione; she got everything he wanted.

"I see… thank you for letting me know I was considered." Draco said, thinking that was all she was doing.

"Draco I don't think you understand." She whispered in his ear. "I was told I got to choose who to give it to. Hermione a wonderful little worker, but so are you. You tend to be looked over a lot because you're not a people person and she is. But the job calls for someone who isn't well liked." She was still whispering which was odd but still good news.

"So I got the job then?" Draco asked, unsure if that was what she was telling him.

"Yes," She breathed hotly on his neck, moving him against a wall. "I look forward to spending many late nights with you at the office." She gave him a devilish smirk "I like having men work under me." She then backed away to walk passed him. "Finish up with your partner on the list and start to look for a new replacement for your old job. You start on the job training tomorrow…And Draco, wear something that shows off your ass more" Draco wasn't sure what just happened. All he knew was he just got a very big promotion that should have taken him years to get.

"If I need to show off my ass to keep it, so be it," He said, getting his things and going home.

(December 4, 9:45am)

Hermione watched as Draco was finishing up his half of the list. She couldn't believe it was true; he was going to be her boss. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in his abilities to do the job. She had always admired the fact that Draco could work for hours on end without so much as stopping to pee and somehow manage to be relaxed. It wasn't the fact he had been picked over her either. It was that the job was usually given to someone that had worked in the office for 30 years. Draco hadn't even done ten and neither had she. She didn't even think they'd be considered for it, let alone get it.

"It's going to be so weird to look over and not see you there," She said, making him look up into her face. He smirked, asking if she'd miss him. "All day," She teased as he came to her desk to flirt with her a little. They were enjoying the time they spent together more and more with each passing day. Hermione had recently realized she had feelings for him. She wouldn't say it was love; she knew love and had felt love for Ron. What she felt for Draco was a kind of longing for his presence.

Her life had been crazy for a few months now and she spent time going over those changes. Like her and Ron for one. Poor Ron had been so upset he had gone over the deep end for awhile, but given sometime and therapy, Ron had gotten better. He even got himself a girlfriend after awhile. They had many talks and found that their friendship had gone back to the days from before the war. This turned out to be a very good thing for both of them. They were no longer love sick puppy dogs, but instead, two adults who almost made a big mistake.

Then there was her dating life. She went from no dates to way too many dates, and finally, to a few dates and one guy she saw often. She and Draco had yet to tell anyone they were seeing each other. This was mostly due to the fact Draco tended to drive other men away just by being her friend. Plus, things were just starting to cool down in her life. She wasn't ready to mess it all up again.

Her work life stay the same over the passed few months, but her friends and family, like Ron, needed time to get over the split up. Finally, there was Draco himself. She tried to keep it just about sex. It was rather hard when he would hold her close during a movie, or make her dinner after taking a cooking class to show her he cared what she thought about his meals. He would even protect her from scummy dates. All and all, Hermione found she wanted to be with him more and more.

"Come away with me," Draco said suddenly, drawing her attention to him. "I have cabin in the U.S.A., we can go there for the holiday, just the two of us for a whole week… We won't have to hide from anyone because no one will know who we are…Please." Hermione smiled at him as his eyes sparked like diamonds.

"I'll think about it."


	7. in the end

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(December 4, 1:30pm)

Draco looked at Ginny Weasley with a small smile. "Please explain to me why you want this job Ms. Weasley." He had been going through this all morning with people all over the building. It seemed everyone who was anyone wanted Draco's old job. Men and women alike had been flocking to him just to ask if they could get an interview. Ginny was just one of many in the crowed screaming for the job.

"I feel as if I am being over looked do to the fact people think I'm after their jobs. I believe my co-workers and bosses are threatened by my past in the war. They all believe my past deeds will get me their jobs if I so choose." She took a deep breath. "I'd like a fair chance to make it in this field, not because of my past, or my friends, but because I am good at it. I know Ms. Granger would treat me as anyone else and with you being my boss, I get that chance." Draco nodded as she spoke, thinking it over.

That was the best damn reason he had heard all day. Everyone else had just talked about wanting a change and working hard. No one spoke of fairness or of the fact they didn't want there past to hold them back or get them a leg up. Ginny was the only one to say she wanted a job with people she knew wouldn't be threatened by her. He had half a mind to just give her the job right then and there. "May I see you're past job records?" He asked, taking a folder from her and looking it over. He noted some remarks about her 'name dropping' as away to get her way. "You do understand Ms. Weasley I will not give you your way just because of your friends. You will have to work hard and prove to me that you and you alone can do this job."

"Yes of course Malfoy, that's why I want this job…I know it says I name drop to get my way, but that's not true." She said softly. "It's not my fault my family and friends have made names for themselves in the world. I could understand where people might think I am 'name dropping' when really I'm just talking." She sighed, biting her lip some. "I told you I wanted a fair chance and I meant it."

"Good," Draco said, handing her back the folder "You start Monday. Ms. Granger will be your partner as you already know." He heard Ginny take a deep excited breath. "Now, I will be watching your work closely Ms. Weasley and if at anytime I feel you are not pulling your weight, or not doing a good job, I will replace you within an hour. Hermione is not to be given your work load, like she was in school." He could see the girl wanted to snap at him, so he smiled at her.

"Yes of course…Thank you for the opportunity," Ginny said, taking his hand before exiting the room and going to give her notices elsewhere. Draco sent out word that the position had been filled, and when Hermione finally came back to the office after spending the day in the potions lab, she was overjoyed to hear her new partner's name. Draco spent the rest of the night celebrating with her in the bedroom.

(December 10, 3:16pm)

It had been a long ass day for Draco. It turned out Reed had left him a big old mess to clean up. All his paper work was just thrown randomly into drawers. It had taken Draco the better part of the day to get the files into order: first by Alphabet, then by the date. He then had to find out if he needed to fire people that Reed was supposed to fire before he left, but hadn't. That had been fun for him; two of his X employee's stood in his office screaming about his unfair decision to fire them, when he hadn't even had the job for a whole day.

Draco ended up showing them that Reed was suppose to do it. He then explained he was no happier to be firing them than they were to be getting fired. It took him his whole lunch break to get them out of his office. After that wild fun, he talked with other people in the office. He had to find out who was working under him and what kind of job they did. It was only three-ish now and he hadn't even scratched the surface. His eyes looked at the name on the next folder 'Hermione Granger', making Draco lose all track of thought.

Hermione hadn't gotten back to him on taking a trip with him over the holiday and it sort of led them to a big fight. He had asked her if she had even thought about it and when she said she hadn't, he had got upset. He hadn't meant to, it was because December was the hardest time of year for him. Not only because of the lonely holiday season, but because December was when his parents died and on the 22 was his birthday. This made him all the more emotional.

Hermione had been talking about work, when he brought it up. She had said she hadn't given it a thought because she was so busy. He knew this was more than likely true, but in his super emotional state he had gotten mad. In his irrational state he said that the only reason she hadn't was because she was ashamed of them. To prove his point, he had asked when she was going to tell people they were seeing each other, or when she was going to invite him to her place. His closing statement had driven Hermione right out the door. 'You're so damn ashamed of me; you won't even have dinner with me in a restaurant!' After she left, Draco cringed and slumped down in a chair. He then sent her an owl with a huge apology letter, explaining he was sorry for over reacting. Needless to say, Hermione had yet to send him anything back or even come see him to talk about it.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Mrs. Lander said, drawing him out of his thoughts. She smiled at him as she entered his office to look around. "I came to see how your day went" The woman explained as she sat down on his desk.

"I owe Reed a punch in the nose" Draco said, putting Hermione's file down. "That jerk left a mess for me to clean up. I only just barely got to sit down and start to look over the files of people working for me." Lander laughed a little.

"Guess it's a late night at the office for the both of us then." Draco gave her an odd look before the woman showed him it was about five o'clock. "Everyone else went home hours ago." Draco sighed, getting to his feet.

"I guess I should go myself. It's not like I can see my workers at work if their not here" He reached for his jacket. "Unless there something you need me to do…Or did you just stop in to ask about my day?"

(5: 03pm)

Hermione sighed, putting down the letter Draco had sent her the night before. Their fight had been very upsetting for her. She had never once felt her lover thought she was ashamed of him, but with all his defenses and points he had made. 'I'm such a fool…I should have known he was going to get sick of hiding our love life…I'm not ashamed of him…Maybe I was once, but not anymore. I should have told everyone months ago that I was dating him.' She looked down at the letter, wondering why he was sorry. He had every right to be mad and now that she finally had a chance, she was going to tell him so. 'I wonder if he still here?'

She took her things, making her way to his new office as she got closer she heard Draco's voice behind the door. He was asking someone if they need something or if they had just come to see how his day was. She stopped, thinking it was best to wait a few moments before knocking. Mrs. Lander's voice rang clear into the halls. "Oh you could definitely do something for me," the woman said, making Hermione uneasy for some reason. Draco seemed not to notice the tone Lander was using as he asked 'what do you need Mrs. Lander?'

Hermione listened, not willing to leave and hoping she was not about to lose her lover to another woman. "Come now Draco, call me Holly." Hermione could feel it in her bones: that slut had her hands on _HER_ man! "As for what I need from you, well let's just say I could use a man of your caliber to work a little over time under me." Hermione would have burst through the door and hexed the crap out of the woman, but she wanted to hear what Draco said.

"Holly I am flattered really, but I couldn't do that." She heard a long pause. "I'm seeing someone who I care for a great deal and I'm not about to throw that out for a good old shag." There was some laughter from Holly Lander, making Hermione growl.

"Well, if you change your mind Draco, my door and legs are always open for you." She heard Draco make a slight grunt as if he had just been felt up or something. Hermione took that moment to knock on his door. Lander came out to smile at her brightly before leaving. Draco stepped out to see her. He looked a bit uneasy, but she knew why.

"Can we talk?" She asked, taking his hand, Draco nodded, stepping back so she could come in. "Not here, I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner and then back to my place." She watched as a bright smile appeared over his lips.

"Yes I'd enjoy that." And with that the two took their closet relationship out on the town. They allowed people to see them as they truly were a couple. They held hands as they walked down the street, kissing without thinking about it and simply enjoying each other, all the while, talking about their fight. Draco for the first time in years opened up to someone, telling Hermione of his overly emotional state. He explained how upsetting December was for him and why it had been so important to him she spent the holiday with him.

Where as Hermione did her best to explain that she cared for him deeply, yet she was afraid of what that meant. As the two enjoyed a candlelight dinner under the stars, Hermione told Draco how sorry she was for making him feel like she was ashamed of him. 'I'm not ashamed, scared maybe, but not ashamed.' He had smiled, saying all changes were scary, but as long as you had someone to hold your hand you'd make it through.

"You know Draco, I could really fall madly in love with you." She said and with in a few years she did. Draco had fallen as well, but it wasn't as easy for him to admit it as it was for her. Eventually, he did admit it when he asked her to be his wife. And this time, when Hermione said 'yes' it wasn't because this was what everyone wanted for her, it was because she wanted it (Draco) for herself.

THE END


End file.
